Who is Elliot Wilson?
Elliott Wilson (born January 14, 1971) is an American journalist, television producer, and magazine editor. He is the CEO and founder of Rap Radar. He previously served as the editor-in-chief of XXL Magazine. While there, he became known for his editorials under the nickname “YN.” Elliott has interviewed and profiled a variety of artists over the course of his career, including Jay-Z, Drake, and Mary J. Blige.
The term “electronic commerce” refers to the sale of electronic goods. His father is African American and his mother is of Ecuadorian and Greek descent. He graduated from William Cullen Bryant High School and LaGuardia Community College with an associate degree in Liberal Arts in 1992. He has two younger brothers, Kenneth and Steven.
Career
Elliot Wilson has been writing and discussing hip hop and rap music since 1992, when he joined Beat-Down Newspaper as music editor. He is the co-author of two critically acclaimed books, “Book of Rap Lists” and “Big Book of Racism!”. Both books were inspired by the short-lived magazine Ego trip. The ego trip collective was named one of the “25 Funniest People in America” by Entertainment Weekly in 2004. [8] Wilson has contributed to publications such as GQ, VIBE, and Rolling Stone.
Wilson joined College Music Journal as a beat-box editor in the spring of 1996. He was promoted to music editor of The Source magazine at the end of that year. Wilson joined Harris Publications in September 1999 as editor-in-chief of XXL Magazine, and in 2005 he launched their website, XXLmag.com.
He also co-created Hip-Hop Soul. Wilson co-executive produced VH1’s TV show Illest Minority Moments: Presented by ego trip in 2004. In 2005 Wilson co-executive produced three specials for VH1, under the Ego trip’s “Race-O-Rama: Blackaphobia, In Race We Lust, and Dude Where’s My Ghetto Pass?”. Wilson served as co-executive producer on the eight-episode VH1 series Ego trip’s The (White) Rapper Show, which premiered in January 2007. Wilson served as co-executive producer on Ego trip’s Miss Rap Supreme, which premiered on VH1 in April 2008. Wilson was named editor-in-chief of RESPECT. in 2010.
Elliot Wilson and XXL
Elliot Wilson’s tenure at XXL ended in controversial circumstances in January 2008. On March 9, 2009, he launched RapRadar.co, a website that documents mainstream hip-hop and rap culture in real time, in collaboration with Paul Rosenberg. Rap Radar has been nominated for best hip-hop web site for the BET Hip Hop Awards in 2010, 2011, and 2012.
Wilson took over as editor of RESPECT. magazine in 2010. Wilson launched “Keep It Thoro,” a two-hour weekly show on East Village Radio, in 2012. Wilson hosts the show, which features new music and interviews with today’s most popular and relevant artists. Keep It Thoro has been EVR’s top overall show since the summer of 2012.
Elliot Wilson was named one of the “Top 20 Music Industry Innovators” by The Hollywood Reporter in 2011. Elliott was named to Billboard’s “Twitter 140” list of the most influential people in the music industry in 2011 and 2012. Wilson was named one of six “Hip-hop Culture MVPs” by MTV in 2011. He has appeared on ABC, CNN, MTV, MTV2, VH1, and BET, among other networks, as an expert.
Other Endeavors
- HRDCVR[18] a hardcover cultural magazine in partnership with wife Danyel Smith.
- Founder of RapRadar.com:[19] Premiere Rap Blog for the latest news, music and video in Hip Hop Culture
- Host of Rap Radar Podcast[20] “Hip hop’s premier website connects with our culture’s most important voices” in collaboration with Brian “BDot” Miller
- WatchLOUD.com presents CRWN[21] with Elliott Wilson where the world’s greatest hip-hop journalist interviews today’s hottest rap stars
- Editorial Director, Culture & Content, TIDAL
Relationship
Elliot Wilson lives in Brooklyn, New York, with his wife, Danyel Smith. In June 2005, they married in Los Angeles.
Net worth
Elliot Wilson’s net worth is unknown. But, given his successful career, he should have amassed a decent level of wealth for himself.
